Save Sierra Leone's Dr. Buck

Dr. Olivette Buck leads President Koroma on a visit to the Lumley Govt. Hospital in October 2013
Stricter infection control measures are in place as well as the personal protective equipment medical staff wear, but Ebola continues to take its toll on Sierra Leonean medical professionals and  health workers in treatment centers. Early on Thursday, September 11, an SOS went out for another doctor:


A PLEA for a fellow doctor's life 

 My colleague Dr. Olivette Buck is one of the most dedicated and determined physicians I know. She had worked for over 20 yrs as a teacher before entering medical school and finally graduating the same year as me-in 2002. A patriot and focused individual. Further to this, she is soon to be ( or perhaps already) a member of the West African College if Physicians. One of the few to recently challenge this position. A mother of three and a dedicated Christian. She also unfortunately happens to be the first female physician  infected in Sierra Leone. We all need her to WIN THIS BATTLE! To give US doctors hope and faith our country won't let us down in this battles. Other countries have recorded victories amongst doctors. Please Press Each Button You Can And Let's Get Her Out To Receive The Top Most Treatment Possible Immediately! --Dr. Esé Thomas-Macauley


Just in: Associated Press's Clarence Roy-Macaulay reports that Health Ministry spokesman Sidie Yahya Tunis says that arrangements are being made to evacuate her to another country so she can receive better medical treatment.

She is the fourth Sierra Leonean doctor to become infected during the current outbreak in West Africa. So far, only westerners have been evacuated for treatment abroad, Roy-Macaulay wrote.

Last October, President Koroma celebrated his 60th birthday visiting orphans and the sick. He went on a needs assessment visit to several hospitals and health centers in Freetown, the nation's capital. The president visited the Lumley Government Hospital, Kroo bay community health center, Princess Christian Maternity Hospital, Ola During and Connaught hospitals, and the Freetown Cheshire Home at Racecourse, Cline Town.

Local papers reported that at the Lumley Government Hospital, President Koroma was briefed by Dr. Olivette Buck about plans by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, in collaboration with Freetown City Council to refurbish the hospital. In the photo, Buck is shown leading the president on a tour of the hospital. The doctor told President Koroma that the operating theater had leaks. She also informed the president about lack of a storage facility for drugs, including those that are being provided for free healthcare.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ebola: The More We Learn, the More We Realize How Much We Don't Know

Image
Alex Bonapha, chairman, Kailahun District Council O bservers say the controversy erupting in Kailahun over the case of a dead baby might just open up critical questions on the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. "While the child appears to be at the center of this controversy, the real question being raised here is the mode of transmission: Is this virus transmitted or transfused?" asks Chernor Bah, chairman of the African Socialist Movement of Sierra Leone. Bah thinks “we need to listen to Mr. Bonapha's concerns.” A lex Bonapha is chairman of Kailahun District Council. In a tersely worded statement sent out Saturday, Bonapha said: "We are strongly contesting the validity of the one case today in Kailahun.  A young child of 9 months, fell ill and was hospitalised at the Nixon Memorial Hospital in Segbwema. They requested blood transfusion and a donor offered his blood. Eventually the child died and a swab was collected to verify the cause of death. It is this...
Read more

28 Years Since the Death of Salami Coker

In words that echoed around the world, a commission of inquiry in Sierra Leone held the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) responsible for extrajudicial killings in1992. The junta's attempt to justify these executions retrospectively by decree, on the basis that the 26 people were alleged coup plotters, was an unlawful abuse of executive power, the commission said. In particular, the Commission found that the deputy chairman of the NPRC, Solomon A.J. Musa, was personally responsible for acts of torture on detainees. They called the executions a flagrant violation of international standards.   Among those executed on December 29, 1992, were: Lt. Col James Yaya Kanu, former commanding officer of the 4th Battalion James Bambay Kamara, former Inspector General of Police Corporal Mohammed Mansaray, alias Candapa of the 1st Battalion Warrant Officer Class 1 Kargbo, alias Fernando of the 1st Battalion headquarters Lieutenant colonel (Rtd.) Kahota M.S. Dumbuya, Army Head...
Read more

'Magazine Has Lost A Son'

Image
President Koroma sympathizes with the Fadika family Tuesday, August 8 Moseray Fadika was a keynote speaker at yet another event Friday, Aug. 5, when he felt ill and was rushed to an emergency room.  The man would die later that evening at the Royal London Hospital, in Whitechapel, east London. The cause of death is still unknown.  Fadika’s sudden loss has sent shockwaves through Sierra Leoneans online, across the small West African country and around the world. Frost Illustrated, a weekly newspaper in Fort Wayne, Indiana, described the popular  businessman-philanthropist turned politician as one of the wealthiest men in Sierra Leone, who built his fortune in extractive industries. Sierra Leone is rich in mineral resources. Diamonds, gold, bauxite, rutile and iron ore are known to exist in large quantities. Fadika never made Forbes Africa’s wealthiest lists, and no one knows just how much he was really worth. But by some estimates, he could have been Sier...
Read more